3 Stars: UNC-Virginia Tech

North Carolina fought off third-seed Virginia Tech, 81-73, on Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament, using a strong second half to pull away from the Hokies.

UNC trailed 35-32 at halftime after a rugged first half in which the Tar Heels had trouble running their offense and were basically even with the Hokies on the backboards. But they turned it on in the second half securing a spot in Friday’s semifinals versus Florida State.

UNC improved to 18-9 and advanced to face Florida State in the semifinals on Friday night. The Hokies dropped to 15-6.

Here are our 3 Stars from UNC’s win over Virginia Tech:

Davis came off the bench to lead the Tar Heels with 19 points, including 14 after halftime. He was 6-for-10 from the field, including 4-for-7 from three-point range, and his personal 6-0 run in the span of 23 seconds in the middle of the second half may have been the most important sequence of the night for the Tar Heels.

Bacot erupted in the second half as well, scoring 13 of his 17 points, including netting five consecutive UNC field goals, three of which came on offensive rebounds. He was 7-for-9 from the floor and also grabbed 13 rebounds, giving him 26 rebounds in Greensboro. In fact, in the last four games, Bacot has averaged 18.3 points (shooting 69.2 percent from the floor) and 11.8 rebounds.

On Jan. 5, Black was 4-for-4 from three-point range in a win at Miami, but from then until before Thursday night’s game, he was 1-for-19 from beyond the arc. Against the Hokies, however, the junior drained a pair of threes and finished with eight points, all in the second half, while also handing out three assists and registering a steal.